The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), on Tuesday, urged the government to create an export development fund and make credit available at affordable rates to boost shipments.
In its pre-budget proposals, FIEO President Rafeeque Ahmed said exports were burdened with the incidence of State and local levies. These levies were making exports uncompetitive. Therefore, taxes such as VAT, sales tax on petroleum products and Octroi should be refunded, he added.
Such a move, he said, would provide 2-3 per cent benefit to exporters, particularly to those dealing in commodities. He also sought abolition of central sales tax, besides waiver of service tax for remittance to overseas offices of Indian exporters in connection with product registration as in the case of the pharmaceutical sector. “It is an urgent requirement of the export industry to effectively compete in the international market. FIEO strongly feels that all taxes, including VAT/sales tax, electricity duty and tax on diesel and petroleum should be integrated into GST,’’ he added.
He also called for creation of an Export Development Fund for aggressive marketing of products. Alternatively, access to ECB (External Commercial Borrowing) window should be provided for MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) export sector with waiver of withholding tax, he added.
